Category: Seasonal Advice

The magical winter wonderland created by frost can be a pretty sight, but what does frost mean for your lawn? When temperatures are cool overnight, the dew on your lawn freezes. For warm season turf varieties this can cause some discolouration and damage to the leaf blade of the grass. This can be a common occurrence for the more southern states of Australia.

In this blog we will investigate why this is occurring and what you can do to help minimise the effects of frost to your lawn.

Radiation Frost

Southern States of Australia suffer from what scientists call radiation frost. This is where the ground and ambient air cools down by the loss of heat to the atmosphere, causing frost. This commonly occurs under clear skies and with little or no wind. These frosts can occur when the temperatures have dropped, and overnight temperatures are at 0 degrees or below. The frost itself, is the result of the dew freezing on your lawn, which typically occurs in the early morning. The drop in temperature then causes the moisture inside the leaf blade to freeze and expand. The cell wall of the grass then ruptures, damaging the turf. This frost also causes significant discolouration to the blade of the leaf. When this damage does occur, the grass can become yellow and brown, often in patterns across the lawn. The discolouration occurs as result of the damage caused by the frost to the cell walls of the grass, slowing down photosynthesis.

Difference between cool season and warm season grasses

The amount of discolouration and damage caused by these frosts will be dependant largely on the type of variety you have. Cool season grasses like fescue and rye contain proteins which prevent them from freezing. Warm season grasses like buffalo, couch, kikuyu and zoysia, don’t have this protein and are much more susceptible to these frosts. Warm season varieties are also the most common types in Australia, as they are more suited to Australian conditions overall.

What can you do?

It is important that whenever there is frost on the lawn you stay off it. By walking across it, you are actually causing the blades to break and causing more damage. This too includes mowing. If you do still need to mow, best to wait until the frost has melted to prevent damage. This also means it’s best to keep your car off the lawn when there is frost as well.

A very light watering just before the sun comes up in the mornings, to remove frost from the leaf can help too. This will melt the frost quicker and more evenly, reducing the appearance of brown patches on the lawn.

The health of your lawn is one of the most important factors in ensuring your turf is able to tolerate frosts. Using a fertiliser with increased iron before winter will help strengthen your lawn for the frosty months ahead.

How to improve the appearance of a frost damaged lawn?

An application of ColourGuard Plus will instantly restore your lawns colour. ColourGuard Plus is a natural green pigment product that is sprayed onto the lawn and is absorbed into the leaf of the grass. This means that once absorbed the colour won’t run, bleed or stain. ColourGuard Plus can increase the surface temperature of your grass, helping to limit the damage that will occur from frost. So, the best time to apply it is before the frosty mornings occur.

As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

While your lawn has slowed in growth, there may be some pesky weeds infiltrating or some nutritional or appearance related issues that need to be addressed during this time.

Here’s some winter lawn care products that you may require, or want to consider using over the coming months…

Winter Lawn Care Products | Treating and Preventing Lawn Weeds

Winter Grass Killer

If you are looking for a selective herbicide for the control of Winter Grass in lawn turf, Winter Grass Killer is the answer. Winter Grass Killer mixes readily with water for easy application. Breaks down quickly so there’s no residue left in the soil.

Selective Winter Grass control in Blue Couch, Common Couch, Brent, Buffalo (including Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo) and Brown top Lawns.

• Cannot be used on kikuyu or fescue lawns.
• 2-3 applications required.
• Active constituent: 175g/L Endothal as the Dipotassium Salt.
• Will treat 200m2 in total.

Should be applied with a fine spray as soon as the winter grass appears and before it has a chance to flower and set seed.

All Purpose Weed Control

All Purpose Weed Control can knock out common weeds such as Bindii, Creeping Oxalis, Catsear, Clover, Cudweed, Dandelion and Thistles.

This weed killer is suitable for established couch, bent, kikuyu, paspalum, buffalo, zoysia, fescue and rye lawns and turf.

Easy to use, clip on hose on attachment will make application easier than ever. No need to measure and mix up concentrates.

Lawn Solutions All Purpose Weed Control 2L ready-to-use bottle treats up to 200m2.

Amgrow Bin-Die Selective Lawn Weeder

Amgrow Chemspray Bin-Die is suitable for use on most grasses including Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo Lawn, Nullarbor Couch Grass, Eureka Kikuyu, RTF Fescue, Platinum Zoysia and all other lawn types.

This weeds killer will treat bindii, catsear, clover, creeping oxalis, cudweed, dandelion, plain thistle and other broad leaf weeds.

Hard to control weeds such as clover often need a follow up spray.

Active ingredient: Bromoxynil

Highly concentrated 250ml will cover approx. 400 sq metres.

Monument Herbicide

Monument Herbicide is the broadest spectrum selective post-emergence herbicide for turf.

Delivers long lasting results with rarely needed follow up applications.

Monument Liquid Herbicide by Syngenta controls, Burr Medic, Bindii, Ryegrass, Winter Grass, Catsear, Chickweed, Clover, Cotula, Creeping Oxalis, Curled Dock, Milk Thistle, Mullumbimby Couch and Nutgrass.

• Highly effective in controlling Poa annua, Ryegrass, Kikuyu, Sedges and a wide spectrum of broadleaf weeds in one pass
• Convenient liquid formulation
• Complete couch solution for Poa annua (Winter Grass)
• Fully systemic action (xylem and phloem) with root, shoot and leaf uptake

Monument Liquid Herbicide is safe to use on – Common Couch, Hybrid Couch, QLD Blue Couch and Zoysia – DO NOT USE on Kikuyu or Buffalo

For best results:

• Consider weed growth stage at time of application
• Consider the soil temperature at time of application
• Always apply with a non-ionic surfactant

Read label before use – ensure correct application rates are applied.

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Winter Lawn Care Products | Lawn Nutrition and Colour

Exceed Liquid Fertiliser

Exceed Liquid Fertiliser is a premium, professional foliar fertiliser designed to bring out the best in any lawn.

Providing health and colour to your lawn during the growing period.

Exceed is ideal for correcting nutrient deficiencies quickly, addressing stress related issues or for a general boost to overall health.

Exceed can be used on all grass types including kikuyu, couch, buffalo, zoysia and cool season varieties.

ColourGuard Plus 

Wanting to keep your lawn looking as best it can until the warmer months?

ColourGuard Plus is a liquid fertiliser and a natural grass pigment that instantly restores the colour of your lawn.

Apply this 100% natural grass colourant to keep your lawn looking green year-round.

Just one application can give your lawn up to three months of great colour.

ColourGuard Plus delivers micron-sized pigment solids into the tiny pores of leaf tissues via water spray. The colour pigments are organic and natural making ColourGuard a safe product for the environment, pets, and people.

Once it’s dried, it’s locked in. ColourGuard won’t bleed, run, or stain once absorbed.

Easy to use, works on all lawns, in extreme heat, rain, cold and frost. Plus, ColourGuard reduces the amount of fertiliser and water your lawn requires.

Lawn Solutions ColourGuard can dry on your lawn in as little as 2 hours when in full sunlight and will work like a lawn paint.

ColourGuard Plus is available in 4 convenient sizes:

• 2L Ready-to-use Bottle
• 100ml Concentrate
• ColourGuard Plus 2.5lt Concentrate
• ColourGuard Plus 10lt Concentrate

Easy to use, works on all lawns, in extreme heat, rain, cold and frost. Plus, ColourGuard reduces the amount of fertiliser and water your lawn requires.

Lawn Solutions ColourGuard can dry on your lawn in as little as 2 hours when in full sunlight and will work like a lawn paint.

Lawn Rescue

Lawn Rescue is a blend of liquid fertilisers, seaweed extracts and wetting agents and is ideal for use during establishment, post establishment and for post-winter revival.

Promoting the development of root systems and growth in new lawns, Lawn Rescue stimulates, supports and protects root growth in established lawns year-round.

Featuring both nutrient and rehydration properties, Lawn Rescue is the perfect solution for tired, slow-growing lawns.

Will restore colour and health to lawns that are looking dry and thin and is suitable for all lawn varieties.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Winter weeds can be a real nuisance and undo all the hard work you put into getting your lawn looking superb during the warmer months.

The best time to treat winter weeds in your lawn is during winter. By doing so, you have a better chance of getting them before germination. This will stop them from dropping their seeds back into the soil and coming back again next season.

Here are some of the most common weeds that appear during winter and what you can do to remove them from your lawn.

Winter Grass

Winter Grass (Poa Annua) is a low growing turf grass. It has soft, drooping green leaves grown in tufts with triangular shaped seed heads. If you allow Winter Grass to drop its seeds, next winter it will be back, twice as badly as it was the previous year.

Winter Grass can be removed very easily by hand as it doesn’t have particularly deep roots and it doesn’t have any runners, growing in simple clumps.

Using a combination of a pre-emergent like Oxafert and a selective Winter Grass control like Winter Grass Killer at the correct time of year should ensure Winter Grass is eradicated from your lawn. Amgrow Winter Grass Killer is safe to use on buffalo lawns (including Sir Walter DNA Certified), blue and common couches. However, Amgrow Winter Grass Killer should be avoided on Kikuyu and red fescue lawns. If you do happen to have a Kikuyu lawn an alternative post emergent herbicide is Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer.

You can find more information on managing and treating Winter Grass here.

Bindii

Bindii is possibly the most annoying weed due to the pain it causes to our bare feet! It is a low growing weed with a flower at its centre. At maturity, the flower produces a prickly seed pod. This seed pod is a particular menace during the warmer months when we are trying to enjoy our lawns. Bindii can be managed by hand or by applying a selective broadleaf herbicide like Bin-Die or Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control. This will help to eradicate these weeds in all lawn types including kikuyu and couch. It is safe to use on most varieties of buffalo except the ST varieties. A repeat application may be required.

The best time to target Bindii is in Winter before it produces the seed pod and spreads throughout your lawn.

Check out our blog on Bindii here for more information.

Clover

Clover is another common winter weed. It is one of those legume plants, like beans and lucerne or alfalfa, that draws nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots.  As the roots die back, the nitrogen is replenished into the soil but where there is sufficient nitrogen in your soil to keep your lawn healthy, the clover struggles to survive. In most cases when you see clover growing in your lawn it means that there isn’t enough nitrogen. So, a fertilise will help increase the nitrogen and slow the clover down.

Clover can also be managed by applying a selective broadleaf herbicide like Bin-Die or Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control.

For more information on removing clover click here.

Creeping Oxalis

Creeping Oxalis has small light green heart shaped leaves, very similar in appearance to clover. (Oxalis, have heart shaped leaves while clover has oval shaped leaves.) The flowers are small, about 3-4mm in diameter and bright yellow in colour containing five petals. Creeping Oxalis, as its name suggests, quickly runs along the surface of the soil and produces roots from the leaf as it goes. When seed pods mature, they dry out and explode, causing the seed to spread.

Once again, a selective herbicide such as Lawn Solutions Australia All Purpose Weed Control will help to eradicate these weeds in all lawn types including kikuyu and couch and are safe to use on most varieties of buffalo except the ST varieties.

You can find more information on Creeping Oxalis here.

We  carry a wide range of weed and pest control products for buffalo and other lawn varieties. Remember to always follow manufacturer’s instructions on the pack.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Winter Grass is one of the more frustrating weeds to remove. As winter grass grows it produces triangular shaped seed heads. These seeds make the weed easier to identify but are a sign that it has already started spreading for next season. In this blog, we look at what winter grass is and how you can stop it from spreading throughout your lawn.

Winter Grass

Winter Grass, botanically known as Poa Annua is a low growing weed that has soft, drooping green leaves, and grows in tufts with white seeds. This weed will start to appear when the average soil temperature drops to 16 – 17 degrees. For most areas, this is around mid to late Autumn or when you start to notice the cooler temperatures. When the soil temperatures drop below this, the winter grass seeds that are in the soil will start to germinate and grow.

How Does Winter Grass Spread?

As Winter grass continues to grow, it will produce triangular seeds heads. These seeds are then dropped into the lawn, or spread by wind, birds, underfoot… and will grow a new winter grass weed/plant.

Prevention

Pre-emergent herbicides like Oxafert and Oxapro target seasonal weed seeds that are already in the soil, stopping them from germinating, before the weed starts to appear! Pre-emergents are best applied in mid to late Autumn, or when the temperatures start to drop in your location. This is when the seasonal winter weed seeds that are already in the soil will start to germinate.

You can also apply a pre-emergent in early to mid Spring, or when the temperatures are starting to rise to help stop seasonal summer weeds, like Summer Grass and Crabgrass/Crowsfoot.

How Pre-Emergents Work

Pre-emergents work by forming a barrier at the soil level, affecting the germination of any new seedlings. This prevents any new weeds from growing and spreading throughout your lawn for up to 12 weeks.

It is important to note, pre-emergents will only stop weeds during germination and won’t stop any existing weeds that are already in the lawn. If you are wanting to target weeds that are already growing in your lawn it is best to use a post emergent herbicide for control.

How to Apply Oxafert

When applying Oxafert and Oxapro, spread out the granules evenly by using a sweeping hand motion or apply with a fertiliser spreader for even coverage. Oxafert and Oxapro are best applied to dry foliage and watered in immediately after application.

Winter Grass in Your Lawn Already?

If Winter Grass has already infiltrated your lawn, it is best to use a selective post-emergent herbicide. Amgrow Winter Grass Killer is a selective herbicide safe to use on most varieties including Blue Couch, Common Couch, Bent, Buffalo (including Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo) and Brown top lawns. This is not safe to use on Kikuyu or Fescue lawns. Another post-emergent herbicide that is safe to use on Kikuyu lawns is Munns Winter Grass Killer.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Is your lawn having problems and not sure where to start? In this blog, we look at troubleshooting common lawn care problems to help you get your lawn back on track and in good health.

Step 1 – Is your lawn getting the amount of sunlight it needs?

Different types of grasses need different amounts of sunlight to thrive. If your lawn isn’t getting enough sun, it can become thin and sparse, and will eventually die out.

Buffalo grasses have a high shade tolerance needing a minimum of 3-4 hours of direct light or scattered light.

Couch grasses require at least 5-6 hours of direct light.

Kikuyu grasses love full sun areas, needing direct light throughout the whole day.

If your lawn isn’t getting the amount of light it needs, regularly prunes back any trees, bushes, and other foliage. This will help increase sunlight to the lawn. If your lawn is shaded by the house or other structures, choose a shade-tolerant variety that will be suited for your area.

For more information on why your lawn needs sunlight, check out our blog here.

Step 2 – Is your lawn getting affected by wear or a compacted soil base?

Does your lawn get lots of foot traffic either from pets or kids? When the soil base underneath your lawn becomes compacted, it can be difficult for the grass to grow its roots deep into the soil, affecting the lawn.

To help the soil deal with a compacted base, aerate the soil. Aeration is best done with a garden fork or tyne aerator. To aerate your lawn simply insert the fork into the lawn and give it wiggle back and forth. This will help fracture the soil profile, allowing air, nutrients, and water to flow better throughout the soil and allow the grass to grow a deeper root system.

Check out our blog on aeration for more information here.

Step 3 – Are you watering too much or not enough?

When watering an established lawn, it is best to only give it water when it needs it. Usually, you will only need to water when there is not enough rainfall to meet your lawn’s needs. The tell-tale signs your lawn needs water are:

• If the leaf is wilting or losing colour
• If your lawn leaves a footprint behind when you walk over it
• During hot weather, if your lawn is dry and crusty, and taking on a brown colour.

If you do need to water your lawn, it is best to water in the morning before the heat of the day. Avoid afternoon and evening watering as the lawn will sit damp overnight as this can cause fungal diseases to develop.

Step 4 – Does your lawn need fertilising?

Is your lawn lacking the nutrients it needs or is it in need of a boost? If so, a well-rounded fertiliser with a balanced ratio of nutrients may be needed.

For fertilising we recommend using our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser this contains a combination of slow and fast release granules that will give your lawn a quick initial boost and will continue to feed the lawn for up to 12 weeks. This is a well-balanced fertiliser that contains all the essential nutrients your lawn needs to stay healthy and is suitable for all lawn varieties.

Exceed Liquid Fertiliser is also a great option for liquid fertiliser. Exceed will give your lawn a quick boost as it is absorbed by the leaf of the grass.

It is best to apply fertiliser around 2-3 times a year, once in Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

Step 5 – Is your lawn being mown enough?

During the hotter weather, warm-season varieties like couch, buffalo, kikuyu, and zoysia will be growing at a fast rate and will need to be mown more frequently.

For mowing, it is best to ensure you are mowing frequently enough so you remove no more than one-third of the leaf with each pass.

If your lawn has become overgrown or you are wanting to reduce your mowing height, mow a notch or two lower than your preferred mowing height. After this, the lawn won’t look great for the first few weeks, but the lawn will be able to recover and grow back at a lower height. Then on the next mow, you can raise your mower to your preferred mowing height and continue to mow regularly. This is best done when the grass is actively growing in spring and summer and should be avoided in the cooler months.

Step 6 – Is your lawn affected by grubs?

Has your lawn become dry and straw-like? Are their brown patches gradually spreading throughout your lawn? Common signs of a grub infestation include brown patches, increased bird activity and a spongy lawn.

If you are unsure if your lawn is affected by grubs, it is best to do a grub test. To do this, mix a bucket of soapy water and pour it over the edge of an affected area. Keep an eye on it and after about 10 minutes or so, usually, if there are grubs there, they will come to the surface. This is best done at dawn or dusk when grubs are most likely to be active.

If your lawn is grub affected, a fast-acting product like Grub Guard or Baythroid Advanced will provide a quick knockdown. A preventative insecticide like Acelepryn GR will help prevent another grub attack from occurring for up to 6 months.

For more information on how to stop grubs in your lawn, check out our blog here

Step 7 – Is rain and humidity affecting your lawn?

Over the last few months, lots of areas across Australia have been facing hot, humid, and rainy conditions. This creates the perfect conditions for lawn diseases to occur.

Here’s what to do if your lawn has been affected by the disease:

• Stop additional irrigation and only water if your lawn needs it. This will allow the lawn to dry out.
• Give the area a good aerate with a garden fork. This will help drain away any excess moisture in the soil profile.
• If the lawn is still showing disease after this, you can look at applying a fungicide like Mancozeb to help clear it up.

Please check out our blog on lawn diseases for more information here.

Step 8 – Do you have the best-suited type of lawn?

In certain situations, different lawn types are better suited for different areas.

If your area receives a lot of shade, a shade-tolerant variety like Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo (which needs as little as 3-4 hours of direct sunlight per day) is an ideal choice.

If your lawn is going to be getting a lot of traffic from pets and kids, choose grass with a high wear tolerance like TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda or Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo.

If you are after a high-end manicured look a fantastic grass to look at is Sir Grange Zoysia.

For more specific advice on choosing the best turf variety for your home and family, have a chat with

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Sedge weeds like Nutgrass are some of the worst weeds when it comes to their ability to infiltrate your lawn.

They are highly invasive and very difficult to get rid of, but there is a product you can use to selectively treat them on your lawn.

Sedges are part of the Cyperus genus which includes about 700 types of sedges. Sedges have triangular cross-sections and spirally arranged leaves in 3 vertical rows along the stem. A common factor in areas where these weeds tend to occur is poor soil.

For this article, we are going to focus on two in particular that are commonly found in Australian lawns, Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch.

Nutgrass

Botanical name: Cyperus Esculentus

Description:

• Nutgrass gets its name from the nut-like tubers found on the roots (rhizomes) of the plant.
• It is identifiable as it is usually a lighter green than the rest of your lawn and tends to grow taller.
• Nutgrass has 3 blades that shoot up from the stem and has a triangular stem rather than a circular stem like most grasses.

Mullumbimby Couch

Botanical name: Cyperus brevifolius

Description:

• A perennial mat-forming, grass-like sedge up to 15cm high with dark green, glossy, strap-like leaves.
• Possesses tough long, rhizomes that are red to purple in colour.
• Grows best in areas of excessive soil moisture and humidity and can be difficult to control due to a strong network of rhizomes from which individual plants can regenerate.

Treatment

Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch are incredibly difficult to eradicate so it is best you act quickly before they spread and become almost impossible to remove.

You can remove them by digging them out with a small spade. But you have to be extremely diligent with this to ensure there are no roots or bulbs left in the soil as they will reappear if left behind.

Sedge Post-Emergent Herbicides

If there is a large amount of Nutgrass or Mullumbimby Couch in your lawn, you will need to treat it with a selective herbicide such as Lawn Solutions Sedge Control or Amgrow Sedgehammer.

Another herbicide option is Paspalum, Nutgrass and Clover Selective Weed Killer, but you can only use it to spot spray buffalo and kikuyu turf varieties as it will harm your lawn as well. It is safe to cover spray-on Couch (excluding QLD Blue Couch), Bent and Fescue turf varieties.

If you don’t treat these weeds, they will continue to multiply and infest your whole lawn, so it’s definitely worth doing in order to save your lawn from continued infestation.

Remember to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the pack when using herbicides. These chemicals are generally on the expensive side, but you only need a very small quantity to treat the affected area. Be aware that repeated applications may also be required.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Tips, Trick And Advice

The recent rains experienced in many areas of the country have caused an extensive amount of damage to homes, businesses and to our outside living spaces.

The most important thing is the health of your families and supporting our communities, so stay safe and we wish everyone the best in the weeks ahead.

The biggest challenges faced during these times for lawns is the combination of waterlogging for extended periods, but in addition to this, once the water levels drop the soil and sediment left behind can smother lawns and are a significant barrier for recovery.

What can you do?

Firstly, make sure your lawn is safe. If rain is still coming down excessively and flowing water is still present, please wait. Make sure all hazards have been identified and addressed so you do not put yourself in harms way.

Facilitate water absorption and the draining away of excess water as best you can, as soon as possible and when safe to do so.

The best thing is for the rain to stop and for the lawn’s moisture level to return to a manageable level. Sunshine is the biggest influence on this, but you can aerate with a garden fork after a few days, divert water away from the lawn where possible and remove all debris that you can that could restrict direct sunlight to the grass.

Aeration is of particular importance for alleviating the moisture and allowing oxygen down into the waterlogged roots of the lawn. You can read more information about aeration here

We have seen in some lawns a lot of mud and river silt left behind smothering grass once waters have receded. Remove what you can by hand and make sure you are wearing gloves. Although more water sounds counterintuitive, initially it can be a good thing to try and use a hose with high pressure to blast as much of this into or off the lawn, so the grass blades are unobstructed.

Another tip for removing any mud/silt/debris easily is using an old rotary mower with a catcher if you have one, as these are great at picking up debris on a lawn.

If moss or algae are present this too will need addressing, you can find more information on treating moss in our blog here

Initially we would advise not to use any fertilisers, topdressing, or other amendments until you are certain the worst of the rain has passed, the lawn is drying out and you are seeing signs of growth. You don’t want to run the risk of wasting money on product that’s going to get washed away or could do more harm than good if likely to stress an already unhealthy lawn. You can however, hand weed, or spot treat any weeds that have popped up, as it is likely weeds will have infiltrated and it’s going to be important to address this so that they don’t get out of control.

When there is excessive moisture combined with humidity, it is common for turf disease to develop. Once the conditions that are causing the disease to develop are gone, your lawn in many cases should recover on its own. Aeration as mentioned above will significantly help with this, but if disease symptoms persist, you may need to look at doing a  to help improve turf grass health moving forwards.

If you notice the lawn is showing signs of being hydrophobic where the water is being repelled by the soil and pooling rather than absorbing quickly, then a wetting agent application will help with this. A product like Wettasoil or Lawn Soaker is ideal.

As soon as it is dry enough to do so without making much of a mess, mow the lawn at your normal mowing height. If the lawn has been left for an extended period and has some length to it, a reset may be required to bring the stem of the grass down to a lower height. This will involve taking the mower down a notch or two lower than normal (lightly scalping) before bringing the mower back up to the normal height. Getting back into regular mowing as soon as possible will be a big part in promoting healthy lateral growth for recovery. Dethatching or scarifying to remove any loose thatch or debris within the profile that has developed before or during the flooding is also going to aid significantly in recovery.

Once the lawn is showing significant signs of recovery, you can fertilise the lawn and target any weeds that have washed in more aggressively. It can be a really good time to also apply a pre-emergent herbicide like Oxafert (3kg) or Oxa-Pro (20kg) that can help to prevent the emergence of some of the weed seeds that have likely been washed in.

We hope this information is helpful. There are no easy solutions, unfortunately, but if you address the things mentioned above it will go a long way to speeding up the recovery process.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

Tips, Tricks And Advice

Moss becomes most prevalent in Winter when there is additional moisture around and a lack of warmth to dry out surfaces.

What is Moss?

Mosses are small green non-vascular plants that grow in clumps. They are generally only a few centimetres tall with extremely thin leaves.

Moss enjoys conditions that are wet, shaded and compacted. It is important to understand that moss itself isn’t the problem, it is the favourable conditions that the moss enjoys growing in. Turf on the other hand generally hates these conditions, so you need to act quick before the moss continues to spread.

How to Remove Moss

If you are already plagued with Moss, then you will need to remove it to enable your lawn to repair and spread back into the affected area.

• You can do so by physically removing it with a spade or rake, being sure to get underneath it and remove the roots from the ground as you do.
• Moss Killer usually contains iron sulphate. Iron can be good for your lawn when it is deficient. But Moss doesn’t like it too much, so an application of iron sulphate will usually cause the moss to die off.
• Mixing water and dish soap and spraying the Moss with it, is also another method often used to kill Moss.

How to Ensure Moss Stays Away

The key is to focus on the cause of the problem so that moss doesn’t keep growing back again.

Aeration – Aerating compacted ground will help the area drain better and allow oxygen and nutrients to the roots of your lawn allowing it to fight back against the Moss.

Improve drainage – If there are substantial drainage issues, you may need to look at putting in a drain or ag pipe to drain the water away and stop it from pooling.

Reduce shade – By reducing the amount of shade where possible, you will help the sun to dry the area out much quicker, which will ensure it doesn’t stay wet for long enough to be favourable for Moss to grow.

Check your soil pH – Make sure the area has a pH level optimum for your grass to grow. You may find an application of lime is required if the soil is too acidic. Moss prefers acidic soils, but it will also grow fine in alkaline soils. Grass prefers a pH somewhere between 6 to 7.5.

After removing the Moss and addressing the causes of the problem, it is a good time to give your lawn a fertilise and encourage your grass to repair.

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As always, if you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact us for free expert advice on 1800ALLTURF (1800255873) or 07 5543 8304.

12 Mowing tips For the Perfect Cut Every Time

A few simple tips on mowing your lawn will go a long way to ensuring you get a nice even cut, without ripping, scalping or smothering the lawn each time you give the grass its regular haircut.